


Those Days

by NanakiBH



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Puppy Love, Secret Crush, Speculation, Spoilers, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-12-07 00:37:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18227561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NanakiBH/pseuds/NanakiBH
Summary: He had something that was worth more than a thousand lifetimes.





	Those Days

**Author's Note:**

> I've just fully embraced the Demyx theory at this point.
> 
> The majority of this fic is just standard momxu tho, so if you aren't on board the Demyx train yet, it's okay. I think you can still enjoy this regardless.

It was about midday, though the sun rested in the same place where it could always be found.

A glance up at the clock tower was all Luxu needed to know that it was time. The Master was waiting for him there.

 

Luxu always looked forward to that time.

 

His days were spent waiting for the hours he spent under the Master's tutelage. The Master was indeed an unusual, unpredictable person, but that was also what made their time together feel so important to Luxu. Daybreak Town's mundanity had a valuable comfort of its own, yet a part of him was always waiting for something. The town's consistent peacefulness made his heart feel uneasy.

The sun never set there, so the ambiguous anxieties inside of him never set, either.

But, when he met the Master, that was when he found his smile.

It wasn't always easy. It felt unnatural to him. But when the Master caught him off guard with his strange sense of humor, sometimes, he really couldn't help but laugh.

Being his apprentice was the greatest of honors, but that distinction wasn't the thing that was most important to Luxu. To him, the Master could have been anyone. He could have been a poor man, a villain, a fool... The thing that made the Master so special was just a simple thing.

For reasons Luxu couldn't comprehend, the Master had chosen him.

The Master gazed upon him and found him worthy of his expectations. He gave value to the life of an insignificant nobody.

His lessons were difficult. Sometimes it was hard to follow along with the Master's unique train of thought. But Luxu never felt discouraged, even when he failed. He failed countlessly, but even the Master's disappointment made him happy. His disappointment meant that he still expected him to improve – that he believed that he was still worth his time despite his failures.

Luxu wanted to improve for him, but he also loved their time so much, he never wanted it to end. Inevitably, as the Master's direct apprentice, he was bound to succeed him one day, but he didn't look forward to that day. He wished that he could be his student forever. He wanted things to continue just the way they were, living for the sake of his expectations.

He wished he'd never had such a troublesome thought. It made him feel selfish and it tainted the enjoyment he took from their meetings.

There wasn't really anything he could do about it, though. Nor could he tell him. He didn't want to seem childish for relying on him in such a way.

 

The sky was the same color as always, but a few grey clouds were coming nearer. He had to hurry on his way. The rain wasn't going to wait for him, and he couldn't stop it from falling.

 

By the time he neared the clock tower, the rain had already caught up with him. Fortunately, he had a hood. The Master had explained the coat's purpose to him, but it seemed unnecessary to Luxu. He'd never encountered the sort of darkness that would have made such a precaution necessary. It just made him curious. Someday, he was probably going to find out, but in the meantime, it was just a nice coat. He was delighted to receive something from the Master that he could call a gift.

He wondered where the Master got it... Had he made it himself?

The material was heavy and it was nicely lined on the inside. It was a bit warm, but it was just right in the rain. He liked it so much, he even took to wearing it outside of his lessons with the Master.

It smelled like the meeting room in the clock tower... Like old books, parchment, and ink...

He liked the fact that they matched. Even though he tried to keep his reactions reserved, it seemed as though the Master was always able to tell what he was thinking, so he must have known how happy it made him, even if he only told him a simple thank you. The Master's mind was always one step ahead, so he'd probably known that he would like it before he even gave it to him.

Did that mean he gave it to him to make him happy...?

That had to be wishful thinking. The Master was just generous.

 

Luxu entered through the secret passage and climbed the stairs inside the clock tower. It was quiet. He stood outside the Master's room and politely knocked on the door. He waited a moment but received no response from inside. That wasn't unusual, though. The Master was often absorbed in his work and didn't have the time to respond even if he heard the knocking.

Luxu knocked again anyway just to be thorough.

One time, he stood in the hallway for roughly thirty minutes until the Master opened the door to see if he was still standing there. He seemed to be testing him. Apparently, that was how he planned to make him more bold and assertive. He didn't actually care about his privacy.

So, Luxu opened the door and stepped inside.

 

“Mas-...”

 

He stopped his voice when he noticed the Master slumped over in his chair, facedown on his desk. The room was silent save for the Master's soft snoring.

“How did he sleep through my knocking...?” Luxu wondered quietly to himself.

It only seemed natural that he should try to wake him. After all, they had a lesson.

But...

The Master wanted him to be bold, didn't he?

Luxu had never seen him asleep before. He wanted to know how he looked... So he silently crept closer until he was at the Master's side. Swallowing his sudden nerves, he leaned down and peered underneath his hood to look at his face. He felt his heart pounding in his throat, afraid that the Master would suddenly open his eyes and discover him doing something that he couldn't easily explain away.

 

It was worth it.

 

He looked peaceful...

Vulnerable...

 

The Master was unarguably stronger than anyone, and yet, at that moment, looking at the defenseless look on his sleeping face, Luxu felt a desire to protect him.

 

He was a brilliant man, but he was a bit of an idiot, too. Although he was respected by all, regardless, other people found his behavior bewildering. Sometimes, even Luxu found him hard to understand, but he knew how kind he was at heart, so his strangeness just made him seem that much more endearing.

In truth, Luxu didn't even care that much about wielding the keyblade.

He just wanted someone to watch him.

If wielding the keyblade meant that he could protect the one who watched over him, then he wanted to become strong for his sake.

 

When the Master began to stir, Luxu quickly stepped away. He waited, watching him with his breath held, but the Master remained in a deep sleep. His shoulders rose and fell with a big yawn, then he settled back in, comfortably nuzzling into the arms folded under his head with a content smile.

He looked like he was having a nice dream...

Luxu didn't want to disturb him.

Deciding that he would let him sleep for a little longer, Luxu found a chair and sat down. He kept a reasonable distance between them but stayed close enough so he could still watch him from where he was sitting.

The room felt warm from the sun and a bit humid from the rain. It was no wonder the Master had fallen asleep. The longer Luxu sat there watching him, the harder it was for him to keep his eyes open. His eyelids kept getting heavier and heavier...

The Master wouldn't be angry if he fell asleep, would he...?

Of course he wouldn't. He would tease him, then he'd let it go by joking about how he fell asleep, too. Sometimes he was easy to predict. Just a little.

 

Hands folded in his lap, shoulders slumping, Luxu took one more look at him before letting his eyes close with a faint smile.

 

There was the smell of coffee.

By the time Luxu's eyes opened, he'd forgotten where he was. He blinked rapidly and held his sluggish head as he struggled to recall. Of course, as soon as he looked up and saw the Master's back, everything came back to him and he instantly felt embarrassed.

The Master appeared to be in his own world, humming cheerfully to himself as he observed a bubbling beaker of brown liquid on his desk. Luxu made a mental note that he should pick up a coffee pot for him so he didn't have to make coffee with his lab equipment. Knowing him, though, he probably enjoyed the novelty and would have found a conventional coffee pot to be boring.

As Luxu sat up in his chair, stifling a yawn, the Master finally noticed that he was awake.

“Morning, sleepy head.”

Luxu looked up at the stained glass windows, his brows furrowing. The light was about the same as always, but he felt the passage of time. “It must be evening now.”

“Any time can be morning if you're just waking up,” the Master said, wagging a finger at him.

“Something tells me other people wouldn't agree with that...”

Luxu blinked and sleepily raised his head when a steaming cup of coffee was held out for him to take.

The Master tilted his head. “You don't want it?”

“I-... I didn't say anything,” Luxu said, taking the cup. He wasn't very fond of coffee, but he didn't want to seem like a child, either. He could struggle through its bitter taste for appearances.

The Master was still standing in front of him. It was like he was waiting for his reaction.

Luxu hesitantly brought the cup to his lips and immediately made a face at the taste. He was glad that he still had his hood up to hide his face.

In a concerning silence, the Master wandered back to his desk.

He returned a moment later and crouched in front of Luxu with a jar of sugar.

“Alright. How many?” he asked as he removed the lid.

“I didn't-...”

He plucked a sugar cube from the jar and put it in Luxu's cup.

 

One...

 

Two...

 

Three...

 

“Th-That's enough!” Luxu said, protectively pulling his cup away before the Master could add another. “If you kept going, it would've been more sugar than coffee.”

The Master huffed. “And? What's the problem? That's how I like my coffee.”

“Wh-... Really?”

He should have expected the unexpected.

“Yeah! It's best when it's sweet, if you ask me,” he said, standing back up. “Want some cream? I only have the powdered kind, though. Gotta get myself a refrigerator in here so I can stock the good stuff.”

What use was a refrigerator in the clock tower? Was it too much trouble to make his coffee at home?

Come to think of it, Luxu wasn't sure where the Master lived. He suddenly got the feeling that the clock tower was the Master's home. He never thought about it...

Realizing that he was waiting, Luxu nodded and nervously answered.

“Y-Yes, please. I'd... like some, too.”

A little bit of powdered cream was added to both of their cups, then the Master took a seat at his desk, turning his chair so that he faced Luxu. He happily tapped his feet as he took a sip of his coffee. He breathed in the steam, then stretched an arm over his head with a long yawn. Apparently he was still sleepy. He probably hadn't been awake for long.

Luxu took a sip of his coffee.

It was better than he expected. The Master was a scientist, after all... He should have realized that it was within his capabilities to concoct a perfect cup of coffee.

“Um... The coffee's very good,” Luxu said quietly. “Thank you.”

“Aw, no prob. You're quite welcome,” the Master said. He appeared to be in a good mood. The cheerfulness in his voice made Luxu's heart swell. “By the way, I know you didn't come here just to have coffee.”

“I was supposed to have a lesson.”

“Yeah, nah. Forget about that. It's too late. Now it's coffee time.”

“Too late? I thought it was 'morning' now...”

“Right. Morning is coffee time.”

Confusing.

“I'm not complaining,” Luxu said. “I suppose there's a useful lesson to be had in taking breaks, too.”

“Smart boy!” the Master said, giving him finger guns. “Breaks are important! Sometimes it's good to do nothing. In its own way, nothing _is_ something. That's because inaction, as a conscious choice, is still an action. So...” He held his chin and nodded. “Sure, that's today's lesson. Make sure to remember it, okay?”

Luxu got the strange feeling the Master wanted him to remember it for a reason.

Quietly, Luxu repeated it to himself. “Sometimes, doing nothing is really doing something...” He didn't have anywhere to write it down, so he added it to his mental notes. “Okay. Got it.”

Even that moment...

Even if they were sitting there, technically doing nothing, that moment was something that Luxu was going to remember. He liked those moments the most, when it was just him and the Master. They weren't just nothing. The smell and taste of the Master's coffee were sure to stay in his memory. He wasn't going to forget it.

 

“Master...”

 

There was a question on his mind. It was the same thing he always wanted to ask, but it never felt appropriate. It still didn't feel appropriate. It wasn't presumptuous or personal. It was just, once the question neared his lips, it always seemed unnecessary.

He didn't need to know why the Master had chosen him.

He just needed to be more confident. Clearly, the Master had seen something in him that he hadn't yet noticed in himself.

 

After deciding to abandon the thought, he noticed that the Master was leaning toward him, looking at him expectantly.

Luxu quickly tried to come up with something else to free himself from the Master's attention. “I, um... It's kinda warm in here, isn't it? This room could use a fan. Needs better ventilation. Um... Want me to pick one up for you?”

While slowly sipping his coffee, the Master gave him a skeptical look. He hadn't fallen for it, but it seemed like he was willing to let it go.

“You're my apprentice, not my gofer – but if you really want, I'm sure there are more things around here that I could use your help with...”

He'd gone and made more work for himself... But it was still better than asking a question that would have made him sound insecure.

 

There was a sudden peal of thunder from off in the distance.

The rain which had let up became heavy again, beating the clock tower.

 

Absently lowering his cup, the Master raised his head to listen to the rain. “Sounds like it's getting bad again,” he said. He looked at Luxu. “What about you? What are you going to do? Wanna stay here tonight?”

“I don't think I'll be able to sleep after drinking this. I can go when the rain stops. It probably won't last all night.”

“Sure you don't wanna have a sleepover?” the Master asked.

It sounded like he was really into the idea. Did he get lonely there at night or something?

Luxu started to reconsider. The Master's suggestion all but confirmed that he lived somewhere in the tower. Luxu was curious to find out what his living quarters looked like. He'd been dying to explore the areas he hadn't seen yet. He hoped that that would be his chance.

“Alright,” he said, feeling his cheeks getting warm. “I'll stay.”

The Master set his coffee cup on his desk and turned his chair back around to face his work. “Well, now that I'm feeling alive again, I have something here I need to finish reading. There are a ton of books around here – if you need something to keep yourself occupied, you're welcome to read any of them.”

“Oh. Okay. I'll have a look around.”

Getting up from his chair, Luxu wandered over to the shelf that interested him most. As he browsed the titles, idly sipping his coffee, his eyes kept darting back toward the Master. It was hard to tell if he was actually reading or if he was just pretending to read. He looked bored with his cheek in his palm. He kept mumbling to himself as he moved a finger across the page, but his mumbling was too indistinct for Luxu to tell if he was reading out loud.

 

In the end, it didn't matter what book he chose. He paid more attention to him.

**Author's Note:**

> Outside the window, rain fell from the night sky.
> 
> The lobby was quiet. It was just him and Demyx.
> 
> Demyx was sitting on one of the sofas with his sitar in his lap, but his fingers only hovered over the strings, making no sound.
> 
> “Don't you have something you could be doing?” Xigbar asked.
> 
>  
> 
> A memory came back to him suddenly when Demyx looked at him with his aquamarine eyes.
> 
> Xigbar recalled an old lesson.
> 
>  
> 
> “Ah... Never mind,” he said. “You seem busy.”


End file.
